Support for laboratory appliances



Aug. 25, 1931. I c. J. FARMER 0 SUPPORT FOR LABORATORY APPLIANCES Filed Aug. 1, 1925 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 25, 1931. c. J. FARMER 1,820,305

SUPPORT FOR LABORATORY AfPLIANCES Filed Aug. 1, 1925 3 Sheet-Sheet 2 Aug. 25, 1931. c. J. FARMER SUPPORT FOR LABORATORY APPLIANCES Filed Aug. 1, 1 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fatent ecl Aug. 1931 UNITED} STATES CHESTER J. FARMER, or Grimace, nmnv'ors 'surron'r' r03 LABORATORY APPLIANCES.

Amman "filed Au ust 1, 1925.

This invention relates to improvements in supports for laboratory appliances and to.

improvements in laboratory construction. The principal ob ect of the invention is to provide an improved supportlng devlce ical laboratories, for supporting the various appliances which are used in laboratory work. A further object of the invention is to provide animproved laboratory construction including supporting devices for holding appliances employed in laboratory work. Still another object is to provide a supporting device which maybe mounted permanently in position on the laboratory desk or table and which may be employedin a wide range of adjusted positions for holding a plurality of different laboratory vessels and appliances in proper position for experimental work. Afurther feature of the invention is the provision of an improved supporting device for chemical laboratories which will permit the adjustment of chemical apparatus to a variety of different posi tions. Other objects relate to various features of construction and arrangement which will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the inventi n will be understood from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings in which various forms and arrangements of the improved invention have been illustrated. In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a side elevai-w tion of the principal parts of the improved device mounted in position on a Fig. 2 shows a bottom plan View of the supportingbracket:

" supporting laboratory bench or table;

and adjacent parts of the supporting device; Fi 3 shows a vertical section taken on the an? 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 sho-wsa vertical section takenon the line44 of Fig.2; v I v thereby holding therod in-thedesired posi-j.

Fig. 5shows a perspective view of a portion of a laboratory bench or table embodying tion including theimproved supporting device; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the improved laboratory table. showing the adjustment of the/supporting device and its attachments for holding a flask and a burette and permitting the location of a adapted for use in laboratories, such as chemthe improved features of the present inven- Serial No. 47,460.

burner beneath the flask; Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of a portion of the improved laboratory table'illustrating the adjustment of the apparatus of the present invention for supporting an assembly of apparatus employed in distillation; and Fig. 8. is a perspective view of a portion of the improved laboratory table and supporting device'illustrating the adjustment of the apparatus to support a pluralityof retort rings with filter funnels mounted therein.

The principal parts of the improved sup.- f

porting device include a's'upporting plate or bracket 10 of rectangular formprovided at. 9

its corners with holes 11 adapted to beengaged by screws for securing the bracket to the underside of the bottle shelf 12 which forms a part of the improved laboratory bench or, table. This shelf is provided along its edges with upwardly extending ribs. 12* which are adapted to prevent. the bcttles'from sliding off of the shelf; The bracketplate 10 is provided on its underside with a down .wardly extending boss 13 provided with a. bore l lextending transverselyof the shelf 12 and adapted tofbe closely fitted by aslidable,

ofthe bracket 10. The rod 15 is secured in adjusted position in the boss .18 by, means of bar 17 is provided within circumferential groove 19' of varying depth and width-and the outerend' of the bar 17 is turned downwardly toform a handle 20 so transverse rod15 arrangedto' have a. sliding engagement also with an aperture formed 1na flange 16 which depends from the inner end that upon turning this handle the wall of the I" groove 191nay be brought into-clamping engagement with thesurface ofthe rod 15,

tion with respect to the bracket 10. I

larged at its outer transverse bore gaged'by a supporting rod 23.v The rod 23 may be adjusted in' the desired position with respect to the rod 15 by means of a fingeroperated set screw 24 which threadedly engages the block 21. In this way the supporting rod 23 may have any desired angular or longitudinal position with respect to the rod 15 and its angular and spaced relation to the supporting shelf 12 may be varied by rotating the rod 15 in its bearings and by adjusting the rod 15 inwardly and outwardly with respect to the shelf.

The arrangement of the supporting elements described above with respect to other parts of the laboratory bench or table is illustrated more particularly in Fig. 5. The laboratory bench or table proper which is designated by the numeral 25 is constructed preferably of considerable length so that it will accommodate a number of students working at both sides thereof. The table is provided with a central longitudinal drain channel 26 .and on each side of this drain channel are located a number of gas nozzles 27 to permit the supply of gas to burners located in convenient positions on the table. The bottle shelf 12 heretofore referred to extends longitudinally of the table 25 above the drain channel 26 and is supported by a series of standards 28 which are secured to the table by brackets 29. A water pipe 30 is supported by the flanges 28 beneath the shelf 12 and is provided at intervals with valve-controlled outlet nozzles 31 to permit the supply of water to laboratory apparatus from both sides of the table throughout its length. A series of bottles 32 containing; chemicals and the like are mounted on the shelf 12 and the usual vapor hood, not shown, may preferably be mounted above the table and above the shelf for the purpose of carrying away the vapors which may be produced during experimentation. A number of the supporting bracket plates 10 are secured to the underside of the shelf 12 throughout its length so that one of the sup porting devices is available for each student. These devices are preferably mounted on the undersides of the shelf at both sides thereof so that they may be used by students working at both sides of the table. In F 5, one of the supporting devices is shown at the left in its normal inoperative position, being adj usted upwardly so that the rod 15 is in its innermost position with the block 21 located beneath the edge of the shelf and with the rod 23 extending horizontally beneath the edge of the shelf. When in this position all parts of a the supporting device are out of the way and free from interference. At the right of Fig. 5, there is illustrated the adjustment of the supporting device outwardly to one of its most usual operative conditions, the block 21 being adjusted until it is located outwardly from the edge of the shelf 12 and the rod 15 being turned to locate the rod 23 in a vertical position.

One adaptation of the supporting device to the purpose of holding chemical apparatus it a Bunsen burner 39 to which gas is supplied by atube 40 leading from one of the gas nozzles 27. It will be apparent that by means of this device a flask and burette, for example, may be maintained in alignment as parts of a unitary assembly and that the parts may be supported in position above a burner without the necessity of employing the usual tripod heretofore used.

In Fi 7 of the drawin s there is illustratcd the use of the invention for the purpose of supporting apparatus employed in distillation. As is here illustrated, the rod 15 of the supporting device is adjusted outwardly and then clamped in a position which permits the rod 23 to be held in a substantially vertical position. A retort ring 42 is clamped to the lower part of the rod 23 by means of a set screw 42 and the wire trough 43 mounted. on the retort ring serves to support the flask 44 containing the liquid to be distilled. A Bunsen burner 4:5 is located beneath the flask and connected by a rubber tube 46 with one of the gas nozzles 2'7. A

cork 17 mounted in the upper end of the neck of the flask serves to support a thermometer 48 and the neck of the flask is engaged by a clamp 49 clamped to the upper part of the rod 23. A branch tube 50 leading from one side of the neck of the flask communicates through a cork l1 with a tube 52 having communication with the upper part of a con denser 53. This condenser is engaged by a clamp 54 which is adjustably secured at 55 to a supporting rod 56 extending outwardly from the clamping block 57 mounted in fixed position on the rod 23 by means of a set screw 57. The condenser 53 is provided with an outlet 58 near its upper end and a tube 59 leads from this outlet to the drain channel 26 which is formed in the table 25. A connection from the water supply line to the condenser is established through a flexible tube 60 attached to one of the Water nozzles 31 and connected to the lower end of the con denser as shown at 61. The outlet 62 at the lower end of the condenser is positioned above a flask 63 into which the condensate is adapted to drop. It will be observed that this installation is mounted as a unit on the supporting device carried by the shelf 12 and that the entire assembly may be adjusted by varying the position of the rod 23 with respect to the rod 15 or by changing the position of the rod 15, eitherangularly or longitudinally, with respect to the supporting v bracket 10. In this way, the apparatus constituting the distillation: assembly may be adjusted to locate it in the desired position and at the proper inclination for efficient operation.

In Fig. 8 of the drawings, there-is illustrated another use of the invention accord-' ing to which therod 23 of the supporting device is employed to support a plurality of retort rings 65, 66 and 67 which are secured on the rod 23by the clamping screws 66 and 67 respectively. These retort rings serve to support a plurality of funnels 68,

69 and 70 which, having filter paper applied thereto, maybe employed. for filtering purposes, the filtrate passing downwardly into the flask 71' and the beakers 72 and 7 3; In this way, a plurality of supports for various vessels employed in chemical practice and eX- I perimentation may be mounted readily and conveniently on the supporting device of the present invention.

Although various embodiments and uses .of the invention have been shown and described by way of illustration, it will be understood that the invention may take various forms and be put to various uses within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: o I 1. A laboratory work bench comprising a table, a shelf over said table, a bracket secured to the underside of saidshelf, and supporting means adjustably secured to said bracket for supporting laboratory apparat us above saidtable.

'2. A laboratory work bench comprising a table, a shelfover said table, a supporting bracket attached to the underside of said shelf, and supporting means adjustably attached to said bracket'and capable of being moved from an inoperative position beneath said shelf to an operative position in front of said shelf and over said table. 7

I vOlirlESlER J. FARMER. 

